[Marty Roth]

Lots of really great advice above, and most of it is on the mark.

I tow both open and enclosed with several different trailers, pulling with a 2500 Series 3/4 ton Suburban (8.1 Litre engine) and ALWAYS use an equalizer/load leveler/weight-distributing hitch. I have several - some are solid, others allow for height adjustment of the hitch ball, but ALL have equalizer torsion bars.

It is more than just peace of mind -- any road surface irregularity, bump, dip, etc. is magnified by your trailer passing that item an instant later and can affect handling drastically. Without a weight-distributing hitch your trailer becomes a first class lever with the axles as the fulcrum, acting upon the trailer ball. The back of your tow vehicle is forced up and down by the trailer hitting the dip you just crossed, oscillating an instant later, and out of cycle, causing jounce-rebound, and minimizing tire-road contact. This is magnified by traffic, weather, drowziness, and a host of other conditions. Having the best equipment available is one more way toward driving safer, and is a small investment compared to your collectible car, tow vehicle, trailer, and travelling companions. It is all about maintaining control when you least expect to have to.

The weight distribution hitch not only takes away the jounce-rebound, but gives your innards a smoother ride, and makes it feel that you now have a 35 foot wheelbase -- your rough riding buckboard of a pickup with hard springs now glides down the highway feeling more refined, say like a Fleetwood or Lincoln Towncar; just ask my wife about the difference -- getting there smoothly or feeling that you've been "rode hard and put up wet" as we used to say in rural Virginia.

Don't forget to check trailer, as well as tow vehicle tire pressures regularly - I do it each morning before driving because you may not be aware of what happened in the last few miles of driving on the prior evening.

I also check the trailer lug nut torque each day; especially important with aluminum wheels, and on new trailers -- sure, these items take a couple of minutes, but a lot less time than waiting on the side of the road for assistance, parts, or a wrecker.

Grease the trailer's wheel bearings regularly - generally 5-6,000 miles, adjust the bearing free-play, and adjust the trailer brakes - they are not self adjusting like your truck.

Grease the trailer hitch ball.

Keep your speed within reason - remember that I'm out there on the road too, and probably heading to the same AACA function.

Enjoy your new toys !

[Patrick_M]

I use a J hook for my tie downs. These come in sets that attach directly to an available hole in the frame. This eliminates crawling under the car, and the springs on the suspension keeps the tie downs tight. Tow trucks use thes all the time.

[Amphicar BUYER]

Without a doubt the best way to secure anything with wheels is by using the web straps that go over the tires. About 4 years ago I was driving across Wyoming along Hwy 85 for 15 hours in a blizzard. No place to stop as all pullouts were over filled so we kept moving at about 15-20 MPH running on the rumble strips so I knew where the edge was. Twenty miles west of Laramie a significant wind blast blew the trailer with an Amphicar on it to the side hard, we ended up doing a 270 degree spin, crushing the left 1/4 panel on the truck and the toolbox on the tongue. Got out checked out everything and moved on.

We found a room in Laramie truck stop. We got up and left early, wind blowing steady at 25+ and below zero with snow (still don't know why it wasn't closed?) Five miles down the road, yet another wind gust spun us out, stuffing the trailer into the median embankment pretty hard. Got towed out and again inspected the Amphicar and trailer, no problems at all! Why? All 4 wheels had tire webs and front/back located safety straps too. We wrecked twice in 12 hours and the car stayed put. Not just our safety, but that of everyone around us is at stake. I keep my tires new and bearings greased!

15+ years ago (also in Wy) a guy with a flatbed trailer loaded with Harleys on the way to Sturgis had used white plastic chain painted silver as safety chains. He told the police if the trailer came off he didn't want it to take him with it. The trailer came off, crossed the median and killed 5 bikers. In a sense it still took him. Five people died and he got life.

[DizzyDale]

Hey,Marty wrote the book in his last post and the ONLY thing i would add is to also grease up the ends of the equalizer bars where they attach to the hitch.I recently acquired a new to me tow rig and i LEARNED ALOT.I was going to forgo using my adjustable head and equalizer bars cause i couldn't make the ball height work out to level the trailer when towing and the truck is stout enough to tow anything. The SMART guy at the welding shop told me to read the decal on my receiver bolted on my truck.When using the equalizer hitch and bars the load capacity DOUBLES from 5,000 to 10,000 pounds over just the ball with no equalizer hitch and bars. I ended up buying the appropriate drop that slides into the receiver and used all my old hitch with bars and its perfect,as Marty stated the equalizing hitch transfers the load through the entire frame of the tow vehicle.Bottom line is educate yourself and don't leave the curb without enough tongue weight.diz

[DizzyDale]

Hey John,THATS an UNBELIEVABLE story.Silver spray paint on plastic chains,WHAT the hell was he thinkin??????diz

[R W Burgess]

Originally Posted by DizzyDale

...........,as Marty stated the equalizing hitch transfers the load through the entire frame of the tow vehicle.Bottom line is educate yourself and don't leave the curb without enough tongue weight.diz

Not only loads the frame, but also puts weight back on the front steer tires, making the front brakes MUCH more effective! Ask how I know!

(OK, I blew through a back road stop sign years ago with the front wheels locked up because of my ignorance.)

Wayne

[Larry Schramm]

I had thought I had heard of about everything, but silver painted plastic chains takes the award to date, :-(